Satyam's 'must retain' list is non-hierarchical

The Satyam Computer Services’ bidding contract stipulated 100 people who have to be retained by the new owners for at least a year. The list is “absolutely non-hierarchical” and based on “project criticality and customer criticality”, according to a senior company executive.

The executive, who requested anonymity, said this means the list includes people outside the top ranks, essentially those engaged in relationship management (those facing customers), programme management and solution (technology) architects. “We have included people who are engaged with Satyam’s key customers. They may not be big customers but are important to the company,” he said. He added Satyam would have liked more people on the retention list “but we have a limited budget.”

The executive feels that Tech Mahindra taking over Satyam will be beneficial for both. Over 75 per cent of Tech Mahindra’s business is from Europe and it gets access to other geographies through Satyam’s acquisition. Besides, with Satyam being a significant player in enterprise resource and planning solutions, the move would strengthen Tech Mahindra’s presence in this segment. From Satyam’s perspective, he said, Tech Mahindra would give financial stability to the beleaguered company.

The domain strength of Tech Mahindra, which is also into retail and other segments, would be complementary, he added.